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Gospel of John x

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“no one needed to tell him what makind is really like” – John 2:25

John 3 contains perhaps the most significant passage of the entire Bible, one so deep you could easily spend months just dwelling on these small verses alone. The love of God, the Son of God, why Jesus, the answer to life, it’s all contained in this passage.

It begins with a conversation, between a young, 30 year old man and a leader of the Jewish council, who was likely in his 60s or even 70s. Such conversations were rare, not because they took place which they often did, but because the younger seems to be instructing the older. Nicodemus was on the Jewish Sanhedrin, and notably absent in the vote required to convict Jesus to death (along with Joseph of Arimathea). You would suspect his absence was due to an ongoing relationship with the young Christ, which probably started here.

“What do you mean, how can an old man go back into his mother’s womb to be born again?” he asked Jesus.
Jesus’ response to this question, aligns very much with his thoughts at the end of the previous passage. So the story of the Gospel unfolds.

 
We can talk about it more in the coming weeks, but here we learn something of the Gospel message, and that is firstly that a) sadly, we are untrustworthy and cannot be relied upon to complete the task but then b) God is capable of completing the task and can be totally relied upon. It is the human story, and what makes the Gospel of Jesus Christ so compelling. God rescues me, he wants to rescue me, and he is the only one who can rescue me. I may be reluctant to face that, I certainly don’t deserve it and at times I probably don’t enjoy or even want it. But God, contrary to all our wants and expectations offers us this second chance in spite of ourselves. Salvation, rescue remains in nobody else but him.

The more immersed I become in that rescue, the more incredible it becomes to me; the vast assurance of God against my own paltry efforts. Humanity flails against what God can and will do, and in vain we watch governments and humans subject each other to vast experiments that invariably bring catastrophe.
But, when we as believers see the transformation of another person because of the purpose of God, through Jesus Christ, we are simply astounded and delighted.
“how are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

As the Kingdoms of men crumble over the centuries, behind all the dust and rubble still stands the towering figure of Jesus Christ. In him is revealed the love of God, with his vast assurance of the rescue of mankind, not as a group or conglomerate, but as an individual, “so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life”

Let’s find someone to tell this week, and see what God will do.

The Stones Been Rolled Away

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Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? – Luke 24: 5

Yesterday evening, we had the privilege to sit and talk with a beautiful young couple on the streets where we live. We spent an hour talking with them about Jesus, who he was and what he did and has done. They were fixated, not with us but with this story. Can it really be so true, that God loves me and that we have access to him because of Easter?

We prayed for the young girl that he would reveal himself to her, and that Jesus would remove her shame. There on the streets, in front of a thronging crowd, we prayed for healing for the young boy, who works 16 hrs a day in a very physical job. We shared the entire Gospel story with them. They went away knowing that this Jesus does not belong in churches, nor is he inaccessible to all but a few, but that he offers life to all who are willing to accept.

This is story that we must commit to tell the world, who are mostly in ignorance. Jesus is alive my friends, and that means all who love him are alive in Christ as well.

Happy Easter friends – the stone has been rolled away, and that means we have the opportunity of life. If the Son of Man sets you free today, you shall be free indeed.

An Easter Theology

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God has two sides to his character that recur again and again throughout Scripture. Holiness and Love. Holiness demands from us, and Love gives to us. When Holiness confronts sin, it turns to wrath, when love confronts sin it turns to grace. God has to be true to both sides of his nature, he cannot be indifferent to either. So, there is a tension that exists in the nature of God when it comes to creation, how are these two reconciled?

There are two ways to get into heaven (most believers think there is only one); keep the law perfectly, or pay the price. The price for breaking the law is eternal separation from God, which is what hell is; God leaves us to our own devices. What can we do to fulfil these conditions and remain with God?

Only one person has the answer and that is Jesus Christ. As God, only Jesus could pay the price for us, and as man, only he could meet Gods demand that a man keep the law. This is the mystery of God, Jesus as both God and man and one which is difficult to grasp, but it is the only one that makes sense and is true to Scripture. One day, we will understand.

In the book of 1 Peter, we see that when Jesus died on the cross, he descended into hell and was separated from God before he was raised from the dead. For the only time in eternity God was separated from his Son, and it was agony for both.

As a consequence of Good Friday, God now sees you as having the righteousness of Christ about you. For all who believe, God has taken the righteousness of Christ and credited that to your account. Does that mean God sees us as never having sinned? That seems far fetched as God knows exactly how I have sinned, no the answer would seem that God sees us as having been to hell and paid the price. When we stand before God, each of us, our Lord will be next to us as one who has paid the price on our behalf. Hence the Scripture says, “you have been bought with a price.” I am completely clothed in he righteousness of Christ.

It is said then, that Holiness and Love kissed at the cross of Christ. It is one of the few theologies that is really important to the believer. Hopefully you can see then, that there was no other way, what happened had to happen. Jesus is the only way back to God.

There is one more thing though; most of the people reading this today will accept this as something that will happen when they finally make it to the gates of heaven, but that is not what the Bible teaches. In Colossians 1:21-22 we are told this:
“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result he has brought you into his own presence and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

Friends, this Easter, the Lord Jesus wants you to understand the freedom that happens in him today. Today, because of his death, God sets you free. Yes you may still sin, but because of what he has done, God sees you as blameless and holy. Only God is holy, yet here it says he sees you as holy, because of Jesus’ death. With that acceptance by you comes incredible freedom, which in turn is what causes us to stop sinning and live according to his way.

Easter is solemn and sober, no doubt; but it is about freedom, the turning away of Gods wrath because of him who loves us more than we can comprehend.

Gospel of John ix

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“Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables” – John 2:15

More reminiscent of an Old Testament picture, early on we encounter a Jesus who is furious at what he sees in the temple. If there are bits people could cut out of the Bible, this would be one of them. We want our ‘Jesus Holy child, Jesus meek and mild’. But if Jesus is God, then we must expect him to exhibit the same characteristics as his Father and the Bible is not short of reference to God’s wrath. Whether we want to hear about it or not is another question. This week, as we celebrate Easter, the entire story is first about the turning away of God’s wrath because of his love for us. We are deluded if we think the wrath of God is not there, and we make God out to be a liar.

A few weeks ago, as I sat with a lawyer, we were discussing the notion that justice is out of reach of ordinary people. Those with the money and power win, and it is very hard to compete against them, especially if you are poor and powerless. That is why there is so much reference to true worship of God being about helping the poor, the widow and the fatherless. Missionaries over the centuries have gone from the richest to the poorest areas to provide the hope of the Gospel along with practical relief. The poor, the defenseless occupy a very special place in the heart of Christ and he spent much of his earthly life ministering to them.

Never is the misuse of power more abhorrent than in the religion of God though. The Jewish temple system had become a source of enormous wealth for the priesthood, and a trap for the poor. Jewish law was to all intents, sharia law in Palestine, and the priesthood forced everyone to comply. Regular tithes and offerings, ensured that money circulated through the temple system at great pace, and was siphoned off for the 71 priests who controlled the Sanhedrin.

A typical Jew would be forced to exchange their daily dollars into ‘temple currency’ at rates that would make most modern day exchanges appear quite lax, and then further, be forced into buying the relevant offering at exhorbitant amounts. A pair of doves were for the poor, but could still cost a weeks wages, which when combined with Roman oppression and taxation made for misery in the lives of most. No wonder God was sick to the stomach with what he saw.Centuries later, as archaeologists uncovered swathes of early Palestine, they found dwellings of the Priests, and were astounded at the contrasting luxury they found compared to the average person’s home.

Religion has always, and will always be business; it is still so today in much of the world and sadly, especially in the church. Most recently in Spain, when youth unemployment was close to 50% and many could barely afford to eat, the Catholic church was criticised for having lavish buildings made of gold and silver and a costly priesthood.

Jesus reacted strongly, as he saw people’s view of his Father shaped by such circumstance. God becomes unattainable, miserly and a shuckster under such a religious system, a God occupied with ripping people off. Jesus came to show people who God really is, in character and approach, not only by living in total obedience, but through the display of God’s true character to mankind. Jesus loved to be with the poor and marginalised, and they seemed to embrace him so much.

As we go on the streets ministering to any that would listen, many are astounded that we take the time and compassion to simply listen and pray with people. Many are grateful for simple prayer, even if they don’t really believe.  We, the body of Christ ,and especially the church must examine ourselves to ensure we are not a barrier to others finding God, either by our behaviour or our inflexible attitudes. We are to reflect Christ’s character to a hurting world, to reveal to the world a God who will one day judge the world, but who also offers a total pardon to any who would turn to him.

We must do this while there is still time.

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